From the time of birth, a child is instinctively pushing into his mouth everything he gets hold of. His tongue and lips have a desire to feel things. His sucking instinct is inherent and you will see him sucking his finger or hand. Many mothers will put a pacifier into his mouth right away to keep him from sucking his thumb. Upon the arrival of my first baby, I swore that she would never have a "dirty old pacifier" sticking our of her mouth. (She,of course, ended up sucking her thumb and being quite a fussy baby.) But when the second baby came, I gave him the pacifier almost immediately. He was a much happier and contented baby than his older sister because I had provided something for him to touch, feel and suck on. When teething time came and his little gums began to swell, he liked to bite on something hard because it felt better. A teething ring or even a clean finger works very well at this stage.
Next, the baby begins to handle objects with his own hands---holding onto a finger, his bottle, or the end of a blanket. Apparently the child finds some sort of pleasure in touching or kinesthetic experiences. The baby is unable to perceive details of any sort. He is in the earliest stages of "learning to see." By sight he cannot distinguish among members of his family. He cannot follow movement with his eyes. He is frightened by unexpected sounds or movement. He finds security in circumstances simulating the time when he was still being carried by his mother. This developmental level will largely consume the first year of his life and will continue in some aspects on into his kindergarten years.
Throughout the first year of the child's life or until he takes the initiative, place a variety of textural materials into his hands. Be certain that none are harmful or small enough to swallow. Let him hold onto such things as clean fingers, plastic rattles, blankets, diapers, and rubber bones. Place the child in changing environments throughout the day so that he has a variety of visual ezperiences. Talk to him and play with him throughout his feeding and while you are changing his diapers and clothing. All of these things are as important to the baby's early perceptual development as stories are to his reading readiness.
Before a child no longer needs the kinds of experiences described above, a variety of other needs will have developed. Kinesthetic experiences to some degree or another will be important to the child at all stages of his development but are particularly crucial through the primary years. I've seen kindergarten and first grade teachers even use sand or shaving cream on a table so that the children can use their fingers to feel their numbers and letters. (The shaving cream is a good cleaner for the table when they're done.)
You can find a variety of teething bibs, teething blankets, and baby gift baskets (ontaining rattles, blocks, and other textures to feel) online at http://www.babyblanketbabe.com/
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